By NSW Ports CEO Marika Calfas
Australia’s ports are critical to the development of an Australian offshore wind industry and new port capacity will be required to support the construction and development of offshore wind projects.
With two offshore wind development zones declared (Gippsland and Hunter) and three more proposed zones (Illawarra, Southern Ocean and Bass Strait), multiple ports will be needed to facilitate developments in these zones to meet federal and state emissions targets.
These ports must have berths for vessels, backed by a significant area of flat land, capable of handling the heavy loads associated with wind farm componentry. Ports do not have this scale of surplus capacity simply sitting idle, which is why infrastructure needs to be built to cater for these projects.
While debate continues about the suitability of the Port of Hastings to support the Gippsland offshore wind zone, developments at ports that have more progressed plans should be advanced to avoid project delays.
Port Kembla, while further away in distance from the Gippsland zone, is ahead in timing and is able to support the Gippsland offshore wind developments.
Our plans for a Port Kembla offshore wind port facility, to support wind projects along Australia’s East Coast, were released in February 2023 and we now have well progressed designs.
This 35 hectare port terminal development, with 750m of quay line, would be built in Port Kembla’s Outer Harbour in a location that already has a planning approval for port development, meaning greater development certainty than Port of Hastings and other locations and faster delivery potential.
Port Kembla is located within one of New South Wales’ largest industrial hubs, is home to the BlueScope Steelworks and already handles cargo for large scale renewable projects.
In the context of the Federal Government’s net zero by 2050 greenhouse gas emissions target and the Victorian Government’s target of 2 gigawatts of offshore wind generation capacity by 2032, port facilities must be up and running as soon as possible.
If commenced now, Port Kembla could be operational within five years to support the Gippsland offshore wind projects and should be progressed to avoid delays while other port locations continue to be considered.